Retail Therapy of the Third Kind
by Cliched Cheesy Crap
Summary: KOUMI A one shot fluff fic set in a winter wonderland of snow.


A/N:

AA: Woo! Welcome to our first one-shot so we don't have to continue writing more chapters but can still update anyways!

SJ: It's the only way we can say we have actually finished something!

AA: Yes, sad but true… Ooh! Because it's a Koumi maybe we'll see Jyoura/Koumi / KoumiLoccness (That right?) around!

SJ: Not maybe…definitely! I'm sure of it! waves Here's a Koumi for ya mate! Oh and we have a competition for fun. Just state in you review who you think wrote which parts of the story. But which was which? Dun, dun, dun. Take your guesses! Clue: If you are very observant there is a simple way to tell. Winner does not get a prize but the incoming goods that fooled you all!

AA: Awesome. And remember guys. AFFIRMATIVE ANSWER is best ;D

SJ: Don't worry about us…we act extensively all foolish!

**Retail Therapy of the Third Kind**

Mimi cast her tear filled eyes down to the numerous shopping bags in her hands. Retail Therapy. One of the many ways to console ones self. She took a shuddery sigh and walked forward, the electronic doors of the mall sliding open to greet her with a bluster winter's grace. She stopped again. Didn't want to go home. Didn't want to see people. Her lips quivered, but she refused to cry. She held her breath, waiting for the well in her throat to pass before letting out a sigh. A gust of wind blew past her, causing her to shiver and pull her designer coat tighter around her and pull her baby pink fur-lined hood over her head. She didn't care where she went, she just wanted somewhere to sit and think. She started walking, boots silently making soft imprints in the snow under her feet.

_She was opposite him at the restaurant table. He was acting rather weird in her opinion. Shifty glances to the side, staring at invisible ants on the floor. Any attempt at conversation so far had ended up in vain. It was always worth one last shot right?_

"_Isao……so……" Mimi started before putting on a fake cheerful voice, "Your mother said you've been asked to trial for the Odaiba National team. You didn't tell me! You must be excited, yeah?" She smiled weakly, attempting. _

_He stared at her for a moment, "Since when were you interested in sport?" he asked rather harshly._

_Mimi shrank back, bitten. "I……I was just wondering…Soccer is a big thing for you, I do have some interest in what you do, you know."_

_He cast a glance outside. How was he supposed to do this? Why did she have to be so damn innocent?_

"_You've never paid any interest before that's all."_

_She froze. May as well be blunt. "You've never acted like this before."_

_It was his turn to freeze. Since when had she been so bold? Might as well take the cue…_

"_Mi…Mimi…about that…" She raised her head to meet his eyes causing him to lose his nerve for a moment. She just had to look at him didn't she……had to make this all that much harder. "Mimi I think it's time we broke this off."_

_She didn't move. Her expression didn't change at all. For a split second, he wondered if she had died. But no……even a dead person didn't go that white._

"_Wh……what?" Her loud whisper was cracked, dry. _

"_You heard me, Mi…don't make this any harder for me please…"_

"_Don't call me that!" Her voice dropped again and tone chilled. "You think you're the only one this is hard for?"_

_All he could do was try to move back from the suddenly angry girl. Only to find his move blocked by the wall of the booth. _

_Another mood swing. "If that's all, I'll be off then." That damned smile was back on her face. "Oh and before I forget," her smile increased, "About your trial……break a leg……literally."_

_And with that she was out the door, leaving him with his mouth wide open and a bill on the table. He had to give it to her……she was good._

Mimi shook her head, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes again, snow flakes sticking to her eyelashes. What had she done? Why had Isao done that to her? It was so unfair… She snuffled, but didn't have a hand free to wipe her nose. Though she had done all that shopping, she still felt empty inside, like something was corroding away in her soul. She just wanted to scream, to yell, and to give Isao a big kick where it hurt. He deserved no less. She clenched her teeth, one of the welling tears breaking free, sliding gracefully down her slender cheek where it dropped from her chin. At least he didn't get to see her cry… she didn't want him to see her weakened. Three days, three damn days spent crying in her room over that… that bastard. How dare he! Who knows how many calories worth of ice cream she'd eaten her way through? Ugh… she felt disgusting. She found herself slipping between sheer anger and sheer sadness at an alarming rate. She felt her feet beginning to complain, and her hands starting to mutiny from the lengthy work.

"Fine… I give up," she muttered through still gritted teeth. She might as well hit the park for a while, to give her time to think away from people. No one should be there; the snow was getting worse, probably bad enough for even the love struck couples in awe of the perfect winter. For the first time in her life, she wanted to spit.

She glanced across the street, coming up to the old brick walls that came to one's waist. Black, yet elegant, iron railings stood to attention a top the crumbling brick; a species of creeper slowly invading, devouring, turning the oranges and reds to greens and browns, hindered by the sugary snow. Dead looking trees waved at her in mockery among the few evergreens still full of life. She crossed the road, feeling relief when she entered the silent park. It was calming, if not a little lonely. She walked through the park, the snow here crunchy underfoot, 'til she came to her favourite spot; a little pond, now frozen over in a glaze of frost, the odd air bubble sliding around under the surface. She thankfully took a bench facing the pond, placing her bags at her feet and let a sigh of relief escape, her breath coming out in a cloud of smoky steam, quickly evaporating into the air. Everything was still, everything was calm. She felt a little better now, but not enough to place a smile on her face. She flopped her head back, staring up at the surly grey clouds swirling past, snowflakes spiralling down around her, caught in the odd gust of wind to dance away. She could just stay here forever and not have to face her friends trying to console her over Isao, and her enemies smirking at her, saying, 'I told you he was too good for you.' She lifted her head back, feeling a little dizzy from the blood that had been slowly collecting in her head. She didn't want to run away from everyone anymore… but it seemed too much to confront them. Why couldn't everyone just forget about what had happened to her?

Izumi Koushiro stared at the misty breath that was coming out of his mouth. Damn, he hated winter. He hated grocery shopping even more however and at the present moment that was exactly what he was doing. Well, not shopping, but carrying the shopping. It was winter and he had to go grocery shopping. Not good. But then again, it was for his mother. Anything for her. If it was of aide to her he would willingly do it.

He was currently walking through the park, taking the shortcut home rather than waste the fifteen extra minutes it took to walk around it. Same old park. Somehow it never got boring. The changing of the seasons through the park always intrigued him The sakura flowers in spring, bright green and colours of the flowers in summer, the reds and golds of autumn and finally the white snow of winter….the current season.

As he cast his gaze around the park, a dot of pink amongst the pure snow caught his eye. Odd, that someone would be in the park during this weather… the concrete took him right past the figure, and as he drew nearer, it seemed ever more evident that it was one of his few friends. The pink fur and many shopping bags gave it away.

"…Mimi?" Koushiro asked timidly, peering into the hood of the person.

Mimi glanced over to meet his gaze, "Izzy?" She tried to hide the fact that her eyes were watering up again, so cast them down, "Um… what're you doing here? It's freezing."

Koushiro offered a smile, "I could ask the same thing of you. But if you must know, I was grocery shopping for my mother."

"Oh…" She paused. She wanted him to go away so she could pity herself in peace. Koushiro waited a moment, then tilted his head at her, "Mimi… are you alright?"

"Yes! Of course I am." She answered quickly, too quickly, feeling the urge to cry growing.

Koushiro chuckled, taking a seat next to her, much to her dismay, "It's obvious, even to me, that something's wrong." He waited for her to spill, though, she remained ever silent, "So… what's up?"

"Oh, Izzy!" Mimi lifted her head to him, hot tears sliding down her rosy cheeks, "Isao just dumped me!" She squealed, grabbing hold of the computer geek. Koushiro's eyes widened, hands not quite sure what to do, "I, uh… I'm… sorry?"

Mimi didn't reply, just launched into a full round of sobbing, heaving against Izzy's shoulder. 'Oh God… Oh God… Oh God…' Izzy's mind said over and over, 'What am I supposed to do!' He awkwardly gave her a pat on the back, "Err, there there?" It sounded definitely more like a question than a statement. But that didn't stop her crying either. It wasn't as though he didn't like having Mimi in this close a proximity… but he wasn't exactly good at calming hysterical girls. He caught a scent of her frangipani shampoo in her hair, his cheeks reddening. Did she have to?

She pulled her head up and looked at him. Her eyes were a little red, and still very watery. Izzy averted his gaze from her, blush deepening.

"Izzy… it's so unfair." She whispered, lips quivering.

"Tell me about it…" Koushiro managed a small smile. He hadn't been exactly pleased when he had heard about Mimi's new boyfriend.

Another few tears escaped her eyes, following the old paths that previous tears had travelled down. She gave a hiccough and stuck her head back into his jacket; but didn't sink back into a lapse of sobbing. Koushiro held still, then, slowly placed his hands gingerly around her in a consoling manner. Her heart beat fast, not quite sure if this was actually happening. He didn't think of himself as Mimi's first choice for comfort; seeing as he was the nerdy introvert of her circle of friends who was socially inept. Sure, the gang said he was making progress, but he was still more stuck into his computer than he was stuck into people.

"Izzy…" Mimi's voice came muffled through his jacket, "You're a guy… why would Isao want to dump me?"

Koushiro mentally started, the question coming from nowhere, "Err, well, I couldn't say. I mean… it's not like I have the girls at my feet."

"I know… but… was it my brains? I'm a ditz, aren't I…"

"Well, um, everyone has their strengths and everyone has their weaknesses."

"That's it! I'm too dumb…"

"No! Don't say that…" Izzy frowned, words failing him.

"Then why?" She looked up again.

Koushiro's mouth opened and closed a few times, the silence dragging out as she waited for an answer, "Um, I… don't see why anyone would want to 'dump' you."

Mimi glanced down, then shot her look straight up again, staring directly into Koushiro's eyes, "Koushiro, do you think I'm pretty?"

Izzy physically started this time, "Wha? I… um… er… why do you ask?" He went beet red, turning his eyes away from her rich hazel eyes.

"Well… there must be some reason Isao left me… it's probably because I'm not pretty…" She didn't feel pretty at the moment… she felt vile… she was dumb… and she was probably ugly… and boring… and, well, no one someone would want to hang around with.

"Well, um…. I-I think you're pretty…" Koushiro's words shook her from her self-loathing, "I mean, you probably don't care what I think… but you're not bad looking." His gaze was fixed on the ground, cheeks flaming. Mimi managed a small smile. Izzy could be so cute… in that nerdy way…

"But... then… why did he leave me?" She felt her throat close up again, smile quickly melting like winter to spring.

Koushiro paused, making a frowning noise, "I don't know… but he was a cretin …" He trailed off, becoming very shy.

Mimi waited for him to continue, holding back another small smile, "And… why's that?"

Koushiro paused, 'Go on… say it!' his conscience was yelling at him, 'No! You'll make a fool of yourself!' his brain was arguing back. 'Oh… bugger it', "Because, he'd have to be crazy to let someone like you go." His voice became quieter as he spoke. He shut his eyes, waiting for Mimi to respond. She'd probably laugh at him or something. She was a popular girl, and he was a nerd. The social food chain wouldn't allow for things to come between popular people and nerds.

But sometimes, even the social food chain went on holiday.

Mimi looked up at him.

And before she knew what she was doing, she had pecked him on the cheek.

Koushiro opened an eye as he felt something warm and soft pressing against his cheek.

"Waugh!" He gave a yelp, pulling his head back.

Mimi couldn't help but laugh, "What… you don't like it?"

Koushiro looked flustered, "Well, I, um, that is to say, err…" He trailed off, "Um… well… I don't hate it." A small, shy smile graved his face.

Mimi, too, managed a smile. She leaned forward again, slowly. Koushiro gulped, noticing how the snowflakes stuck to her hair and eyelashes, how her cheeks had that healthy glow from the outdoors, how her warm breath comforted his cheek when she leaned closer still. Then he felt soft sweetness press against his own lips. Mimi held their kiss for a brief moment. Short, but sweet. She drew back from Izzy, his lips still slightly pouted when she left. Mimi giggled, "Izzy… you're so cute!"

Izzy felt his face warm considerably, as well as a large smile form, "You… you think so?"

Mimi nodded, having apparently forgotten her past troubles, "Y'know, in that nerdy way…"

Koushiro's smile faded a little, "Oh…" He glanced down, only to have Mimi's arms tighten around him as she hugged him properly. Instinctively, his arms followed, if not a little awkwardly.

"Izzy?"

"Yeah?"

"…Thanks…"

A/N:

AA: So! Can you guess who wrote what?

SJ: Another Clue! She wrote more!

AA: But which she is the she that you should be picking? Eh? . . 

SJ: So…it was another combined effort from AA and SJ! The power twins from Outa Space in the third and possibly fourth dimensions of doom and fluff bunnies.Weeeeee!

SJ: And as a final command, you are now to push my dear little friend the review button right to the bottom left hand corner of your screen. You too will get a new friend!

AA: Yes! And if thou shalt fail to follow the commands, I shalt be forced to set thine bunnies of fluff and dimensions of doom on yo' sorry butts!

Mwajajajajajajajajajajajaja!

We deceived entirely!


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